Meeting documents

APPENDIX 1

Request by the South West Regional Assembly

for First Detailed Proposals on Provision of Sites

for Gypsies and Travellers : Background Report

1.0 The Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West 2006 - 2026 (RSS)

1.1 The Regional Assembly are preparing the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South West which is a long term development strategy looking 20 years ahead.

1.2 Members will recall that the RSS has been the subject of a number of reports to the Council Executive and Council including the submission of First Detailed Proposals for a sub-regional spatial strategy for the West of England. This was prepared by the West of England Partnership and agreed by the constituent Unitary Authorities.

1.3 Under the provision of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act the Regional Assembly can request strategic planning authorities to submit First Detailed Proposals (FDP) on a range of matters.

1.4 The Assembly's request for FDP on provision of Gypsies & Travellers sites (see Appendix 2) has come at a time when there remain only five months before the final draft RSS is submitted to the Secretary of State. Requesting the submission of the FDP by 7^th February leaves insufficient time for a robust assessment to be carried out and agreed by the West of England Partnership and the four Unitary Authorities. For Bath & North East Somerset that would mean agreeing the FDP and the 1^st February Executive which has a lead in time of the 11^th January for the draft despatch report limiting the period for carrying out the work to November and December at the most.

1.5 The Regional Assembly in the brief attached as Appendix 3 state in para 2.4 that the January 2005 and 2006 caravan counts should be utilised to assist in drawing up proposals to identify indicative figures for Gypsy and Traveller site requirements. However, officers from all four Unitary Authorities in the West of England agree that the caravan count in isolation from other data sets is unlikely to provide a credible assessment of need in the West of England and could not be defended adequately during the RSS and Local Development Framework¹ examination processes, and would not fulfil the wider needs of a housing assessment. The full draft response sent to the Regional Assembly setting out these and other concerns is set out in Appendix 4.

2.0 The Way Forward

2.1 There is a duty to carry out assessments of need under the Housing Act 2004. In addition the Council is already committed to carrying out a needs assessment to inform the planning policies of the Bath & North East Somerset Local Plan Revised Deposit Draft (15^th July 2004 Council). This will also meet the requirements of DoE Circular 1/94 `Gypsy Sites and Planning' and the emerging draft Circular issued in December 2004 - `Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Sites'.

2.2 Discussion on the best approach to a needs assessment has taken place with officers from the other UAs in the West of England through a joint working group. This has met three times and consists of officers covering a range of expertise including Gypsy & Traveller co-ordination, Housing, Environmental Health and Planning.

2.3 These meetings have concluded that a joint West of England UAs approach is the best one bearing in mind the transient nature of the Gypsies and Travellers.

2.4 There is an urgency to move forward on starting the needs assessment in order to utilise the caravan count scheduled for the 19^th January 2006. This will provide the opportunity for a questionnaire survey to be carried out.

2.5 However, a detailed methodology for the assessment is needed and officers from the four UAs are currently discussing the best approach. There are resource implications for carrying out the assessment and these are set out in section 3 of the main report.

3.0 Conclusion

3.1 Following the request from the Regional Assembly for the four UAs in the West of England sub-region to provide FDP on Gypsies and Travellers accommodation officers of the four UAs have concluded that this is not feasible in the time scales indicated. However, there is an urgent need to carry out an assessment which can inform the Bath & North East Somerset Housing Strategy, the Examination in Public on the Regional Spatial Strategy, and future planning policy documents. Members are asked to endorse the draft response to the Regional Assembly and agree that an assessment of need for Gypsies and Travellers accommodation be progressed as soon as possible and jointly with other UAs in the West of England.